Coupling device.



No. 69|,|o9. Patented Jan. I4, 1902.

` M. A. BRowN.

COUPLING DEVICE."

(Application lsd July 25, .1901.1

(No Model.)

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UNITE Para r trice.

MARK A. BROVN, OF DOUGLAS, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM O.PAXSON, OF DOUGLAS, GEORGIA.

COUPLING DEVICE..

SPECIFICATION forming part of' Letters Patent No. 691,109, dated January14, 1902.

Application ned July 25,1901. stanno. 69,586. (nomma.)

y To all wiz/m it may con/007%:

Be it known that I, MARK A. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Douglas, in the county of Coffee and State of Georgia, haveinvented a new and Improved Coupling Device, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to car-couplings, and more particularly to a devicecomprising a pivoted coupling-head and a coupler proper. It may be usedupon railways and in analogous relations.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis speciiication,

in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts inall the igures.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section upon the line 1 l of Fig. 2 lookingin the direction of the arrow. Fig. 2 is an oblique section on the line2 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow, and Fig. 3 is asection upon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of thearrow.

The draw-head 1 is provided upon its under surface with an integralshoulder 2, the edges of which are slightly rounded, as shown in Fig. 1,at 3 and 4. The object of this shoulder is to support the abuttingshoulder 5 of the coupling-head 30 so as to cause said coupling-head toproject straight outward, and thereby register with any othercouplinghead. The shoulder 2 also serves to protect the pivotalconnection by which the couplinghead is made movable, any excess ofpressure tending to break the pivot being received upon the shoulder 2.

The draw-head lis provided with a hole 11, extending vertically throughthe same, and is beveled, as at 13, and is square at 111. The object ofthe bevel 13 is to make room for the movable parts of the coupling. Therounded surfaces 3 and 4 of the shoulder 2 serve to allow more or lessfreedom of movement between the draw-head 1 and the coupling-head 30.This freedom -of movement is further facilitated by the shape of thewalls 31 32, through which the draw-head 1 projects into thecoupling-head.

From the bottom of the coupling-head projects a lip 8, terminating inthe shoulder 5 and provided with edges 6 and 7. The object of this lipis to afford a flat bearing-surface which abuts upward against thedraw-head 1 and serves to assist in sustaining the coupling-head in ahorizontal position, as well as to abut against the shoulder 2 for thepurpose above explained.

The parts 9 and 10 are of the usual form and need not be described indetail. The pivot 12 extends through the coupling-head and also throughthe draw-head, and the coupling-head has by virtue of its pivot and ofthe tapering walls 31 32 and the curved surfaces 3 Il of the shoulder 2more or less rocking movement relatively to said drawhead.

The coupling-head 30 is preferably extended longitudinally in thedirection of the drawhead, and the pivot 12 isplaced in one end, so tospeak, of the coupling-head. By this means the free end of thecoupling-head has more or less lateral swing for the purpose of enablingit to partake of the general direction of the track in passing around acurve. Upon fthe free end of the coupling-head 30 and secured thereto bya vertical pivot 17 is a knuckle, the outer end 22 of which is providedwith a hole 23, said outer end being of the usual type employed in.Ianney couplers, and which therefore need not be described in detail.An arm or wing 15, integral with said knuckle, extends into the opening33 of the coupling-head 30. -This wing moves radially upon the pivot 17and is provided with a spiral cam 18. (Shown more clearly in Fig. 2.)Behindthis Wing is a simple form of leaf-spring 23,which Idenominate atriggerspring. This part being substantially the same as that describedin my former application, I do not deem it necessary to describe indetail.

The coupling-pin19 is partly cutaway and provided with a shoulder 20 andis adapted to move upward when actuated by the spiral cam and to dropdownward by its own weight when the high portion of the cam passes, soas to leave the pin Without further support. This pin is provided with ashoulder 27 and with a link 21, whereby it can be actuated by means ofany approved form of lever. The shoulder, lever, and link being old formno part of my present invention.

IOO

Parts and 26 represent the connections for holding the spring-trigger inplace. The edge 28 of the coupling-head 30 is beveled and in otherrespects the coupling has the usual form of couplers. 29 is a slot inthe wing 15 for engaging the spring-trigger.

The operation is as follows: When two cars are brought together and acoupling-head similar to the one described or a Janney coupler of anykind is brought into contact with this coupler, pressure upon the face34 of the knuckle causes the Wing 15 to swing inward into the positionshown in Fig. 1. In doing this it compresses the spring-trigger 23'bydirect compression, and the spiral cam 18, engaging the shoulder 20 ofthe pin 19, raises the pin vertically upward, passing under the same,and When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1 the piu dropsdown by its own Weight into the place it formerly occupied, -thuseffectually preventing the wing 15 from moving out of the couplingheaduntil the coupling-pin is raised, which is done in the usual manner. Thebevel 13 upon the draw-head is regarded as an important feature of myinvention. By means of this bevel the wing 15 is allowed to swing freelyin an unobstructed path and considerable space is saved. The taperingwalls 3l 32 and the rounded edges 3 and 4C of the shoulder 2 allow thecoupling-head to swing with considerable freedom upon the drawhead l1,so that the free end of the couplinghead has considerable lateral play.This lateral play is of great importance in enabling the coupler to passcurves, as above eX- plained. The freedom of lateral motion in thecoupling-head is greatly increased by the beveled edge 13, because ifthis edge were not beveled the end of the draw-head adjacent to thepivot would jam against the cam 18 and obstruct the movements of thewing 15. The bevel 13 constitutes a mutilation of the draw-head l forthe joint purpose of allowing the coupling-head 30 to swing side- Wiseand of allowing the wing 15 to swing upon`the pivot 17, meanwhileallowing the coupling to be made in a compact form. The coupling can bemade several pounds lighter by virtue of this mutilation and because4 ofits compact form can be more readily handled.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim as new and desire to'secure by Letters Patent- 1. A couplingdevice, comprising a longitudinal draw-head provided with a beveledsurface, a coupling-head pivoted centrally upon said draw-head, aradially-movable member pivoted upon said coupling-head at a pointeccentric to the center thereof and substantially facing said beveledsurface, and means for locking and releasing said movable member, thearrangement being such that the path of said radially-movable member ispartially bounded by said beveled surface, whereby the entire structureis rendered compact and strong.

2. A coupling device, comprising a hollow coupling-head providedrearwardly with an aperture, a longitudinal draw-head extending throughsaid aperture into said couplinghead and provided therein with a beveledend, a radially-movable wing pivoted in said coupling-head at a pointout of alinement with the general longitudinal direction of saiddraw-head, but free to swing across the general direction of saidcoupling-head, in a path bounded by said beveled end of said drawhead.

3. A coupling device, comprising a hollow coupling-head providedrearwardly with an aperture having diverging walls of different sizesconstituting bearing-surfaces, a longitudinaldraw-head extending throughsaid aperture and provided with bearing-surfaces of different Sizes forengaging said diverging walls, the forward end of said draw-headk beingprovided with an oblique face adjacent to the smaller of the saiddiverging walls, a rearwardlymovable Wing pivoted in said coupling-headat a point out of alinement with the general longitudinal direction ofsaid draw-head, but free to swing in a direction substantially parallelto said oblique face, the free end of said Wing normally lying adjacentto said beveled end the arrangement constituting a strong and compactcoupling ot' light weight, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

MARK A. BROWN.

Vitne'sses:

F. WILLIS DART, GEO. R. B Riees.

IOD

